Clean your own house first: integrating sustainability into microbiology labs

Abstract Microbiology laboratories are pivotal hubs for exploring the potential of microorganisms and addressing global challenges. Particularly, Environmental Microbiology facilities hold substantial influence in advancing knowledge and capabilities crucial for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This raises the imperative of integrating sustainable practices to mitigate the environmental impact of research activities and foster a culture of responsibility. Such an approach not only aligns with global sustainability objectives but also catalyses innovative, eco-conscious methodologies in scientific research aimed at tackling pressing environmental issues. Concerns regarding the environmental footprint of laboratory practices have stimulated innovative improvements within the scientific community, ranging from resource-efficient initiatives to the management of essential commodities like water and energy. This perspective discusses specific areas where microbiology laboratories can enhance their sustainability efforts, drawing on reports and case studies of pioneering groups. Additionally, it explores potential collaborators to support these endeavours and emphasises the pivotal role of early career researchers in driving this transition. By initiating discussions and sparking curiosity within the environmental microbial community, this commentary seeks to propel the microbial ecology field toward a greener future, starting from within the laboratory environment.

Micr obiology labor atories play a pivotal role in understanding and harnessing the po w er of micr oor ganisms .For instance , microbiology facilities can significantl y adv ance our knowledge and capabilities to address the United Nations Sustainable De v elopment Goals (Fagunwa and Olanbiwoninu 2020 ).This potential then warrants the question of whether it is equally important to integrate sustainable practices to minimise the environmental impact of our r esearc h and pr omote a cultur e of r esponsibility.This a ppr oac h would not only align with global sustainability goals but also pave the way for innov ativ e, eco-conscious methodologies in scientific r esearc h consistent with the vision of contributing to the solutions of the environmental challenges the world faces.
Indeed, concern r egarding gr een pr actices in lab facilities has already fuelled innovative improvements and schemes within the scientific community (Madhusoodanan 2020, Akinsemolu 2023 ).Initiativ es r ange fr om efficient r esource use, including plastic use assessments (Alves et al. 2021 ) to water and energy management (Mathew et al. 2004, Stephanie Tanner 2005 ), all essential commodities in daily microbiology laboratories operations.
Here, we discuss specific areas where microbiology laboratories can advance the sustainability of their oper ations, r eferring to reports and case studies of groups already moving to w ar ds a gr eener dir ection.Mor eov er, potential collabor ators that can support these c hanges, suc h as r esearc h institutions and learned societies are discussed.In addition, the role of early career researchers (ECR), team leaders, and other laboratory members in making this transition possible is highlighted.By doing so, this opinion piece aims to spark curiosity and kindle conversations among the FEMS micr obiology comm unity about how the field can pr ogr ess sustainabl y fr om the inside out.

Energy efficiency
A critical step to w ar ds sustainability is r educing ener gy consumption.Microbiology labs, with their array of equipment like fridges, freezers , biosafety cabinets , autocla ves , incubators , thermo cyclers , and centrifuges , to name a fe w, ar e typicall y ener gy intensiv e. Simple measur es like turning off equipment when not in use, defr osting fr eezers , a voiding bloc king air v ents in biosafety cabinets, using LED lighting, and maintaining equipment for optimal performance can make a considerable difference.
Notably, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Lawrence Berk ele y National Laboratory, and the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories have produced a report on assessing baseline energy performance for laboratories (Mathew et al. 2004 ).They also presented The Environmental Performance Criteria (EPC)-a point-based rating system designed to score ov er all envir onmental performance for laboratories (Mathew et al. 2004 ).Updated versions for both, the Laboratory Benchmarking energy use (I2SL 2005a ) and EPC (I2SL 2023 ) tools are available online and ar e fr ee to use .T hese institutes ha ve further developed guidelines and a Smart Labs Toolkit to help increase environmen-tal sustainability in laboratories (I2SL 2005b ), currently used by numerous academic , public , and industrial laboratories.
Additionall y, a gr eements with manufactur ers and suppliers could facilitate upgrading to energy-efficient models, significantly cutting down on power usa ge.Furthermor e, questioning our long-standing practices could also lead to energy sa vings .For example, a discussion on Twitter raised the question of whether setting a freezer at -80 • C is necessary.Could increasing the temper atur e to -70 • C also suffice?Leak and collabor ators explored this question, finding that operating an energy-efficient freezer at -70 • C, if necessary, with empty boxes to buffer against temper atur e c hanges, can r educe ener gy use by about 36% compared to running the same model at -80 • C (Leak et al. 2023 ).Further, the Freezer Challenge organisation has made available scientific evidence that -70 • C is a safe storage temperature for various sample types (Freezer Challenge 2016 ), including fungal isolates (Espinel-Ingroff et al. 2004 ) and proteins (Beekhof et al. 2012 ).Indeed, together with the University of Colorado Boulder, the Freezer Challenge has created a database where life scientists across the world share the type of samples stored at -70 • C, their applications, and safe storage tests conducted.These initiatives are open invitations for more microbiology labs to participate.
Granting social media might not seem like the ideal environment for academic discussion, but it can provide a space for open conversations about long-standing beliefs, leading to useful knowledge.
Economic benefits further support sustainability practices.This has been pr ov en by the Harv ard Univ ersity's Gr een Labs Pr ogr am, whic h by encour a ging pr actices suc h as shutting fume hoods when not in use, has saved approximately $250 000 USD annually in energy costs, reducing the carbon footprint and impr oving labor atory safety and efficienc y b y maintaining optimal airflow (Quentin 2017 ).

Wa ter conserv a tion
Water is a critical resource in microbiology labs, used for everything from washing glassware to preparing solutions and culture media.In settings where autoclaves and dishwashers are the major water consuming pieces of equipment, running these only when completely full and efficiently loaded would greatly improve the efficient use of this resour ce.Coor dinating with other laboratories could help maximise the use of each cycle.Equally, assessing the type of water necessary for each application can reduce water consumption.For instance, considering that producing 1 L of deionised water r equir es 3 L of tap water (Leak et al. 2023 ), should prompt the evaluation of whether a given activity needs deionised water.Other advisable changes include using foot-pedals in lab sinks to facilitate turning water on and off and recir culating w ater systems for cooling laboratory equipment (Ro y al Society of Chemistry 2022 ).
The University of Bristol has implemented various water-saving measures in their laboratories, including in those dedicated to medical microbiology and infectious disease.For example, their Green Labs scheme, focused on optimising water usage among other sustainability goals.Measures include installing lo w-flo w aerators on lab sinks, maintaining reverse-osmosis systems efficientl y, and activ el y identifying and fixing leaks .T his pr oactiv e maintenance has pr e v ented water loss and potential damage to lab equipment and facilities, ensuring smoother laboratory operations by reducing equipment downtime, ultimately allowing the University to allocate more resources to research activities (The University of Bristol 2017 , 2022 ).

Chemical use and disposal
Chemicals are indispensable in microbiology labs, to the extent, that we can all think of containers with r ea gents fr om years past, often with the same chemical being ordered over and over again without an y giv en jar being actuall y empty.T hus , by car efull y mana ging inv entory and a voiding o v er ordering, labs can pr e v ent waste from expired or unused chemicals.Also, the choice and disposal of chemicals impacts sustainability (Ro y al Society of Chemistry 2022 ).Eliminating or exchanging our reagents for less or nonhazardous compounds (EFLM 2022 ) and centralising their use and disposal at the department or institutional le v el can help to impr ov e r esearc h r epr oducibility and sustainability pr actices (Meyn et al. 2022 ) while minimising the type and amount of chemical waste produced by individual laboratories.

Waste management
Micr obiology labor atories gener ate a v ariety of wastes, with single-use plastics likely constituting the largest proportion.The complexity of recycling plastics due to biological contaminants and mixed waste makes it challenging.
Although plastics used to manufacture laboratory consumables are technically recyclable (e.g.polypropylene), the presence of biological contaminants, the diversity of plastic types, and the mixed nature of waste make recycling a complex and often unfeasible option.Furthermore, almost all single-use plastic waste in microbiology labs is routinely collected in biohazard containers or bags for disposal and incinerated (Tan et al. 2022 ).Ho w ever, a significant amount of the plastic w aste discar ded b y resear ch laboratories is not biohazardous.Indeed, a report analysing the recycling potential of plastic waste produced by clinical facilities in the United States found that plastic waste can significantly be reduced by appropriate segregation of waste (Lee et al. 2002 ).
In fact, some alternativ e str ategies ar e alr eady being implemented.For instance, the University of York waste audit and plastics decontamination station de v elopment (Kuntin 2018 ) led to corr ect waste segr egation, allowing them to partner with a laboratory supplier to recycle centrifuge tubes, pipette tips, and other plasticware that have not held biohazardous materials (Sterilab Services 2022 ).
Furthermor e, some manufactur ers ar e de v eloping biodegr adable plastics specifically for laboratory use .T hese plastics , under the right conditions, can break down mor e quic kl y and with fewer envir onmental r epercussions.Equall y, some manufactur ers offer take-bac k pr ogr ammes for used plastic items, ensuring pr oper recycling or disposal.Microbiology laboratories should segregate plastic waste and collaborate with companies that can handle lab-specific r ecycling c hallenges, suc h as pipette tip boxes.Which other products could follow a similar scheme?
Wher e v er possible, labor atories could shift fr om single-use to reusable items .Glass ware can often replace plastic containers and be sterilised for repeated use.Metal instruments can replace some plastic tools and last m uc h longer.This is not new to microbiology labor atories wher e single-use plastics hav e often r eplaced more sustainable options, for example, glass Petri dishes, metal inoculating rods, and glass L-shaped spreaders, to name a few.
We can also de v elop pr otocols wher e micr ocentrifuge tubes ar e c hanged and disposed of after a few centrifugation cycles (e.g.DN A extraction); w ould it not be reasonable to reuse autoclaved tubes or to use biodegradable plastics?Indeed, protocols for reusing plastic consumables in routine microbiology assays already exist.For example, Soltani and colleagues (Soltani et al. 2019 ) sho w ed that reusing pipette tips and tubes after chemical washing with sodium hypochlorite had no impact on PCR amplicons' quality and purity .Similarly , reusing pipette tips washed with sodium hypochlorite in automated clinical microbiology protocols for SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR increased efficiency, mitigated consumable shortages, and reduced costs and plastic waste (Berger et al. 2024 ).It is also important to consider that around the world these practices are conducted on a daily basis.Perhaps more due to economic constraints than environmental reasons, nonetheless , it is feasible .Would this be a practice that laboratories in more economically developed countries would consider adopting?
While the transition a wa y from single-use plastics is not without c hallenges, particularl y r egarding sterility and contamination, the environmental benefits are significant.By adopting alternativ e materials, r ecycling pr ogr ammes, and a cultur e of sustainability, micr obiology labor atories can r educe the ecological footprint of scientific r esearc h.For example, Alv es and collea gues (Alves et al. 2021 ) at the University of Edinburgh assessed and addressed the plastic use and waste of their multidisciplinary microbiology , molecular biology , and immunology laboratory facilities .T heir work lead to an important reduction of single-use plastic waste and biohazard waste needing autoclaving and or inciner ation, thus ac hie ving cost savings for the r esearc h institute .T his case study could be used as a benchmark for other groups.

Mindful automation
With the advancement of automation, microbiology labs in universities , industries , and the public sector are increasing their ener gy consumption, especiall y with equipment r ecommended to stay "on" regardless of usage.Equally, automated systems often pr oduce mor e plastic waste due to high throughput processes and proprietary consumables.For example, a liquid handler from one company might not operate unless specific pipette tips are used.Ther e ar e micr obiology labor atories wher e m ultiple br ands' liquid handlers r equir e differ ent pipette tips, incr easing plastic waste and pac ka ging.
Just like for most manual pipettes, where pipette tips can be bought from either the pipette manufacturer or from a generic one, automated liquid handlers offer the opportunity for a conversation across manufacturers to produce leap-frog products that can be used across technologies, or for a consumables manufacturer to come up with size-fit all alternatives.
It is worth noting that such a change would probably require a push by the consumer, it is ther efor e crucial that microbiologists, molecular biologists, and scientists in gener al r equest and ar e part of those con versations .
Ac hie ving c hanges in ener gy mana gement and single-use consumables would boost the benefits that automated systems alr eady pr o vide .For instance , the r eduction of time and effort r equired to conduct molecular laboratory assays and the accuracy of r ea gent usa ge that often minimises the gener ation of c hemical waste.

Procurement
By purchasing supplies in bulk, labs can reduce the amount of pac ka ging waste.Choosing suppliers and products that prioritise sustainability is essential.This means selecting products with minimal pac ka ging, opting for goods made fr om r ecycled materials, selecting pr oducts whic h offer r ecycling sc hemes, and partnering with companies that have a clear commitment to environmental responsibility.

Investment in research
Supporting r esearc h into ne w materials and methods that reduce reliance on single-use plastics, fossil fuels, and high ener gy oper ations can contribute to long-term solutions.Gr ants and funding opportunities specifically targeted at sustainability in the lab can incentivise innovation in this area.For instance, testing the effect of r elativ el y higher temper atur es on fr eezers for long term sample stor a ge; assessing how man y times pipette tips and microcentrifuge tubes could be possibly re-used, if any, for a given application; use of biodegradable consumables for growing/storing/maintaining liv e cultur es; de v elopment of biodegr adable plastics for lab applications, etc.

Education and awareness
Perhaps the most crucial factor in driving sustainability is fostering a culture of environmental awareness within the lab.Regular training and discussions about sustainable practices encourage lab personnel to be mindful of their environmental impact.By understanding the importance of each action, from recycling a plastic tube to pr operl y shutting down equipment, lab staff can collectiv el y contribute to more sustainable operations.

Institutional support
T he discussion abo ve highlight the benefits of collaboration not only within a laboratory group, but also with a larger spectrum of potential partners.Clearl y, univ ersities and other institutions wher e micr obiology labor atories ar e hosted would be the first avenue for a larger improvement.
No w ada ys , univ ersities get r anked on their sustainability credentials .For example , the Impact Rankings from the Times Higher Education e v aluate univ ersities performance in accordance to the UN Sustainability Goals.Similarly, the QS sustainability University Rankings measure around 1400 universities ability to tackle global environmental and social c hallenges.Furthermor e, nation specific tables, such as the People and Planet Univ ersity Lea gue in the United Kingdom, do a specific ranking of their country's higher education institutions commitment to environmental, social, and governance sustainability.It is therefore reasonable to expect and activ el y ask for institutional support to ac hie v e sustainable labor atory oper ations.
Such support should include conducting energy and water assessments at laboratory and building scales, while conducting the necessary adjustments; e v aluate a ppr opriate insulation and v entilation installations and guiding and training researchers in their sustainability journeys.Institutions can also assist if not drive a mor e envir onmentall y sustainable pr ocur ement b y or dering in bulk and compile and select suppliers with sustainability commitments .Moreo ver, the creation of Shared Research Resources (SRR) at institutional le v el, wher e instruments, r ea gents, and tec hnical expertise ar e shar ed, has demonstr ated to be an invaluable tool to ensur e quality, r epr oducible science while r educing envir onmental impacts of biomolecular r esearc h (Meyn et al. 2022 ).Microbiologist can then argue that their r esearc h institutions can ac hie v e higher r esearc h quality outputs , economic sa vings , and reputation gains by supporting sustainable laboratory practices.

Microbiology societies
Another important partnership can be formed between microbiologist and learned societies.Many microbiology societies already implement sustainability practices, such as in the organisa-tion of e v ents .For instance , in the latest FEMS 2023 Symposium, most of the catering was vegetarian, and single use plastic cutlery was avoided.Instead, ceramic cups were available for every coffee break, and a stainless-steel bottle was provided to all attendees so that they could refill as needed from the multiple water supplies a vailable .Another exceptional example is the Microbial Ecology and Evolution Hubs, which in January 2024 by facilitating hybrid participation, allo w ed in-person attendance for local r esearc hers, while supporting full virtual participation across Europe and North America Hubs.Hybrid conferences where travel can be flexible not only cut on carbon emissions (Achten et al. 2013 ), but are also more inclusive to audiences from less economicall y de v eloped countries.Ho w e v er, micr obiology societies could impr ov e their sustainable e v ent cr edentials, by asking for sustainability statements for the grants they provide for this matter, and by sponsoring e v ents and or knowledge exchange activities specificall y tar geting sustainable labs.
Another k e y acti vity that microbiology societies could facilitate due to their extensive networks, is the organisation of round tables wher e micr obiologists , institutes , industries (e .g. manufacturers, suppliers), and e v en policy mak ers could discuss alternati ves and solution to environmental issues caused b y resear ch laboratories.
Also, society journals could promote scientific research in sustainability, such as this FEMS special issue on "Microbiology for a Sustainable Future", also accepting case reports on sustainable laboratory best practices.Another example in this regard is the Applied Microbiology International new bespoke journal Sustainable Micr obiology, whic h r equir es that an y manuscript submission states how that piece of r esearc h addr esses the UN Global Sustainability Goals.Would a similar r equir ement about sustainability measur es/consider ations taken for conducting an y and e very piece of r esearc h make sense?This would at least promote a thought process by authors and readers about the environmental impact of a given investigation.

Early-car eer r esearchers: the next gener a tion of environmental sustainability practitioners
Driven by a similar motivation to that of the present work, a group of ECR r esearc hers worked with the publisher eLife Sciences Publications to launch the #LabWasteDay campaign on Twitter in 2019 (Ho w es 2019 ), highlighting the single-use plastic used by scientists globally.Plastic waste and other realities of the environmental impact that life-sciences r esearc h, including micr obiology, has, hav e been r ecounted in numer ous perspectiv es, case r eports, and letters to the editor mostly written by ECR.On their reports, ECR narrate the contrasting perceptions that the need of sterility and sustainability entail.Some of these r esearc hers hav e tried to influence change in their laboratories, with more or less success.The success stories by Alves et al. ( 2021 ) at the University of Edinburgh to cut plastic waste, as well as that of David Kuntin at the University of York (Kuntin 2018 ) to create a plastics decontamination station, were driven by ECR.
Ho w e v er, the r eality of fixed-term contracts and the pr essur e to generate quality results worthy of publication in a short period of time, could hinder the initial enthusiasm of ECR to abide by sustainability rules .T hus , highlighting how crucial of the role of senior microbiologist is to successfully implement these changes in their laboratories.
Principal in vestigators , laboratory managers , and team leaders are the person of r efer ence in e v ery labor atory.Just as they estab-lish the r esearc h cultur e and how a labor atory oper ates, senior scientists along with permanent technical staff should set the standards for sustainability practices in laboratory procedures.It is their pr er ogativ e, and we might argue, their responsibility, to foster a culture open to innovation committed to conducting r epr oducible and quality science while procuring sustainable researc h pr actices.Furthermor e, permanent staff should ensure the longe vity of envir onmentall y friendl y initiativ es, perha ps spearheaded by ECR, beyond fix-term projects.
It is ther efor e par amount to bring faculty, ECR, tec hnical staff, and students together to de v elop, enga ge, and support suc h changes .Ha ving an open mindset to new practices that do not compr omise on r esearc h quality and r educe the impact of research on the environment should no longer be a choice but a mandate.
In a world moved mostly by economic considerations, it is important to remember that sustainable practices not only reduce environmental footprints but also often lead to cost savings and efficiency impr ov ements.Micr obiologists, particularl y envir onmental micr obiologists, should lead by example in promoting sustainability in laboratory en vironments .Let's clean our own house first.